psalm

[ sahm ]
See synonyms for psalm on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a sacred song or hymn.

  2. (initial capital letter) any of the songs, hymns, or prayers contained in the Book of Psalms.

  1. a metric version or paraphrase of any of these.

  2. a poem of a similar nature.

Origin of psalm

1
before 900; Middle English psalm(e), s(e)alm(e), psame,Old English ps(e)alm, sealm<Late Latin psalmus<Greek psalmós song sung to the harp, originally, a plucking, as of strings, akin to psállein to pluck, pull, play (the harp)

Other words from psalm

  • psalmic, adjective

Words Nearby psalm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use psalm in a sentence

  • At times he thought to aggravate his victim's sufferings by singing snatches of favorite psalms from the Huguenot psalm-book.

  • But his fervor was all stage fire, and he would turn in an instant from a denunciatory psalm to a humorous story.

    In Madeira Place | Heman White Chaplin
  • His cries ceased; her thoughts went off into a dreamy psalm of thanksgiving as his soft mouth pulled at her breast.

    The Pioneers | Katharine Susannah Prichard
  • According to this gentleman the Boers were a psalm-singing but hypocritical nation addicted to slave-driving.

    Hyacinth | George A. Birmingham

British Dictionary definitions for psalm

psalm

/ (sɑːm) /


noun
  1. (often capital) any of the 150 sacred songs, lyric poems, and prayers that together constitute a book (Psalms) of the Old Testament

  2. a musical setting of one of these poems

  1. any sacred song or hymn

Origin of psalm

1
Old English, from Late Latin psalmus, from Greek psalmos song accompanied on the harp, from psallein to play (the harp)

Derived forms of psalm

  • psalmic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012